Gateway Essentials: Poul Anderson

25 November 2016

Poul William Anderson was born ninety years ago, today, in Bristol, Pennsylvania, so it seems an appropriate time to give his work the ‘Essentials treatment’ . . .

Born of Scandinavian parents, Anderson lived in Denmark briefly before the outbreak of the Second World War. He was a SFWA Grand Master, winner of seven Hugo Awards and three Nebulas – and was Greg Bear‘s father-in-law!

It is one of the oddities of the award process that his major works of fantasy were not recognised with wins or nominations by the various Fantasy Awards. SF-Fantasy fusion The High Crusade was shortlisted for the 1961 Hugo Award, but the seminal Norse fantasy The Broken Sword – hailed by no less than Michael Moorcock as one of the finest fantasies ever written – has troubled neither juries nor voters. It was, however, selected for inclusion in David Pringle‘s important Modern Fantasy: The Hundred Best Novels and was added to Gollancz’s re-launched Fantasy Masterworks series last year.

And then move on to our specially selected Gateway Essentials, including the acclaimed Flandry books, starting with Flandry of Terra and Ensign Flandry:

There’s also one of Anderson’s own favourites, Brain Wave, a novel about the effects of the sudden increase in the intelligence of all life on Earth (yes, please!); knights-vs-aliens romp The High Crusade; the saga of immortals among us, The Boat of a Million Years and Time Patrol, a collection of Anderson’s stories following the guardians of the timeways: